Joan McCarthy and the Dragon of Delphi
by Vanestea
Summary: Joan McCartney is confused about her future. She was a half-blood, and not half bad at that. But she had a job, and maybe even a rivalry along the way. How far is she willing to go for her friends, and family? Percy/OC, Grover/OC, Some OC/OC. Based in LT
1. I Become Daughter of the Sun King

1 – I become the daughter of the Sun King

'_In every family, there's always an odd one out, there's always a black sheep.'_

_In my family, I wouldn't consider myself odd…_

_That was, until I met all my half-brothers and sisters._

_It was when I was a young girl that I had my first encounter with fairy tale magic._

_Only it wasn't a fairy tale, like Cinderella, where all your dreams come true. And that little prince comes to save you from everything you fear in your life. Then everything is okay. It's alright._

_No, this isn't a tale of the average princess. So best be on your way if you don't believe. If you don't believe in the impossible, you'll never make it alive where I'm from. In the following few pages, you might see tragedy, you might find love, and you might even find friendship. You might find betrayal, deception, shame, glory, sadness, anger, frustration, fear, and all other emotions and commotions._

_You'll find those dryads, unicorns, hydras, dragons, giant pythons, satyrs,_

_And Gods._

_Gods and Goddesses._

_Reading this tale, non-believers, won't do you no good. So I suggest now, to put this down, go have fun with kids your own age, or people your own age. Go listen to the music you use to listen to when you were a kid, or music you still listen to if you still are one. Get out those record players, pop in those Elvis Presley and Beatles LP's. Put on some Lady GaGa or Owl City. Whatever you people listen to, go. _

_Go play outside or something. GET A JOB!_

_But if you won't listen to what I have to say, I'll show you to the door._

…

…

_You gone?_

_Good._

_All you believers are lucky to be where you are now. For I know that I wish I had a normal childhood sometimes._

_Sometimes._

_But being who I am is a wonderful experience._

_This adventure isn't for the faint-hearted, so follow those non-believers and close the door on your way out._

…

_Thank you._

_Well, here goes nothing._

I popped the bubble I made with my gum and lifted my bags as I moved gracefully. Over the hill, passed (THE STARS, IN YOUR EAR! TEAM ROCKET! No seriously) the big pine tree looming over the secret camp grounds. My mother has sent me here. Like she sure as hell knows half the shit she talks about. She's crazy, my mother. And yet, I smiled to myself in the bitter cold night, I loved that woman. Just as crazy as me. Just as crazy as a demi-god born to a lonely landscaper should be.

My mother was Jasmine McCarthy. Meaning that was my last name, considering I AM a demi-god. She's the descendant of Irish folk. Also meaning that my ancestors were McCarthy's. So you'll be hearing that name a lot around me. My mom is like a vampire, pale white with dark dark brown hair. Her eyes were a deep complex green, filled with wisdom and insanity beyond my years.

On another note, totally unrelated note, my name is Joan McCarthy. I'm a 13-year-old girl from Manhattan, New York. Born in Ireland, raised in New York. Being a demi-god was new to me. I was raised on the thought, and the possibility since my mother told me of my state at a young age. But it was only at my last birthday that she considered sending me here, to…

"Camp Half-Blood." I read aloud as I brush passed the sign. It was late at night, and I stared in awe at my surroundings. I bet it looks even stranger to the average teen in the light. The sky looks like it was a perfect sheet, just like that one scene in Hercules when Hephaestus changes day to night...no, Joan, do not mock gods now, they're actually real…

I half-hoped the thunder about me was just timing.

My mother told me of this 'Big House' which I'd have to report to upon arrival.

I pointed to the building in front of me and stated obviously. "Big House!" And walked inside.

This is where I met Chiron. The centaur raised his head from his slumber and his eyes softened from his glare when they met my figure. I had the strongest feeling to glomp him and never let go, just because he was a cute horsey! The other feeling was a wondering feeling of whether or not my eyeballs could pop out of the sockets in my skull. "Oh, you must be Joan."

I nodded respectful, but truly didn't like the smell of horse around. I was okay for the time-being though so hold your pity.

But still, who wouldn't be surprised and curious to see a CENTAUR?

"I take it your trip went well?" He smiled at me and I nodded again.

"Other than the stench of monsters, everything was just smashing." Chiron gave a hearty-laugh. "You have your father's humour." He paced around me, and I suddenly felt confused and uncomfortable. Like the frog you're about to dissect in your grade 10 science class or that deer in your headlights.

"Pardon me, sir?" I questioned, but he just continued trotting around and muttering to himself. It was weird. How come most old people were weird? Would I be weird like this horse-man? What if I end up like my mom? I shivered at the thought. Asylums aren't very friendly places for someone with ADHD and Dyslexia.

"But not his hair…ah but she has the eyes, I wonder…" He contemplated, and mulled over the idea. Then he made up his mind, grabbed one of my bags (much to my surprise). I had the feeling we were moving out, and picked up my other bag.

"Follow me to your cabin, your mother has already told us of your fate." He stopped and thought again, leaving me to peer at his thinking, aging face. Horsey-man laughed again and said, "Then again, it's so obvious."

I was tempted to ask if he was on something but resisted the urge out of pure 'respect'. Or something inside my stomach that meant to shut your mouth and that you had a stomach ache. Either or. That taco and 4 liters of fruit punch was not agreeing with me right now. The pain…

I couldn't see anything different in the dark, I didn't like the dark. My mom said it was because of my dad that I didn't. My dad apparently liked the sun. Or so I was told. I like the sun too. Because of the sun, my skin was somewhat tan, instead of the ivory white it usually was during the other seasons. This was good. I smirked to myself. I wasn't a vampire in the summer!

Chiron pointed to a door, and I just noticed that we'd already arrived at the cabin I would stay in. "I'm sorry for such a quick introduction; my name is Chiron, by the way." He shook my hand gingerly. Horsey-man was a cool dude. I liked him. "It's too late for me to show you around, but I'm sure your brothers and sisters will be glad to help you in the morning." He continued, and I nodded on tiredly. He stroked his chin in thought before speaking again.

"In the morning, we'll discuss this whole matter, and separate your classes into a table for you."

"Alright."

We both parted ways.

As I entered the regular looking cabin, I saw the number 7 plated in bronze beside the door. Lucky number seven? Sweet! I think I could hang here. Just when I close the door behind me, a whole bunch of cheering puts me on my toes. I was ready to bash these cheerers with my guitar. A girl with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes approaches me, smiling. Her eyes were a deep, hypnotizing blue, just like mine. I started to get creeped out. I knew I'd have…'relatives', here at camp, but the striking resemblance was creepy. She grabs my hand and I yelp in response while she shakes it vigorously.

"I knew the new kid would be one of us! Hey there, I'm Tess!" She grinned happily.

"Boy, are all the other cabins gonna be peeved when they find out they didn't get the newbie!"

Some of the other half-breeds around me gave me smiles too. I was glad that I wasn't the only one with dark hair. But most of the kids were blondes with blue eyes. True sons and daughters of my father.

I just didn't know it yet. Hell, at that time, I didn't know who he was, or what I was good at.

Just that I was a demi-god, half a god, half a mortal.

I shook her hand back when I had finished examining the golden scenery and the happy faces in my surroundings. She smiled, and another few of my brothers smirked in the background. "I'm Joan McCarthy, Demi-god."

The dark haired boy scoffed in the background. "Like we didn't know."

"For all you might now, I could be half-dryad, mister."

The sandy-haired boy beside him laughed, and clapped me on the back, "You're alright there, McCarthy, I'm Austin, that's Lee, and beside the smart mouth is Michael."

They nod to me, more in a forced manner than completely necessary. Lee had dark brown eyes, and black hair. Michael had green eyes and black hair. Austin's eyes bore into me with the sweetest colour of green, freckles bordered his nose. I smiled at him and he introduced me to the rest of the cabin.

I met Kayla, she was more preppy and full of herself than I was use to so I didn't like her off the bat. There were other girls, and notably there were some girls I liked like Tess, the short sandy haired girl with the euphoric attitude.

Julia was a sweet, loud Italian girl with freckles and dirty blonde hair. It came down to her shoulders and her eyes were a misty greenish-blue. Her face was heart-shaped and friendly looking. She was someone I'd get along with just fine.

Aethinia and Arianna were twins with long, wavy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. The only differences you could see were the two beauty marks on the side of Arianna's slim, attractive face. Their golden locks looked like golden silk in the not-so-artificial cabin light. They were slender, but short twins.

There was also Adam, who was about my height, maybe a bit taller. He looked 4'9, and had light brown, almost dirty blonde hair. His eyes were green and friendly. He had an attractive smile, which I almost fell for but considering he's my half-brother, which would be creepy. He shook my hand firmly and gave me the heart-melting smile when Austin and I stopped at him. SHUT UP HEART, He's your freaking' brother!

"It's weird, how we're all from dad, ya know." Austin said, rubbing my shoulder in thought. People always left me hanging in thought, which was my job! I deadpanned beside him. "I dunno who my father IS though!" I shouted in confusion. What the hell, can all these pretty kids just buck up and tell me what I want to know! Who was my father! And why was he such a player on mom…?

Some of my cabin mates laughed, others jeered fingers at me and spoke to the person beside them excitedly. Lee looked at me with a not-amused look.

"I would think it's obvious."

"You've got blue eyes."

"We've all got golden blonde hair."

"Music notes line our walls, lyres in the corners."

"Paintings on the walls."

"Mirrors by the beds."

"You brought a guitar with you."

"Bows and Arrows on the ceiling."

"The beauty of an artificial solar source in our room as lights, who do you think he is?"

I stopped listening for a moment, the girls went on and on about the mirrors. Well, what god loved his looks, other than Narcissus? What god loved music and arts, and archery? I felt stupid for realizing it at that moment. Now that I think back to it, it was a really stupid thing for me to do.

Blonde hair, hypnotizing blue eyes…

My love for the sun was the final clue.

I let my eyes fall on Austin again; he was like my guide at that time. My thoughts were clicking wildly, and the Greek on the walls messed with my head.

Finally, I had the nerve to ask of my father's name.

"Is this Apollo's cabin?"

Lee and Michael clapped sarcastically. They mocked and mouthed 'Bravo!' and pretended to faint as if in the presence of a celebrity. It took a lot of resistance to not pounce on them and punch them out. Tess glared at them, but smiled at me sweetly. Julia, however, bashed them both on the heads. "Be nice!" She yelled, and then grinned at me.

Austin chuckled, and I felt blush creep onto my face at the embarrassment. The other members of the cabin returned to their sleep or preparing to. The blonde boy patted my shoulder and pointed to the bed at the left side of the door.

"Good guess, you can stay by me, so as Lee and Mike don't bother you."

Hi there, my name is Joan McCarthy, I'm 13-years old and I'm the daughter of the Olympian, the Sun King, Apollo.


	2. I Meet A Girly Metal Headed Mechanic

2 – I MEET A GIRL METAL HEADED MECHANIC

In the morning, I feel a sudden cold chill against my skin. My skin was showing. My inner body heat continued to burn on my skin. I felt cold, and blindly reached for my sweater over the side of the mattress. My eyes went wide when I felt skin instead. Jolting up in my bed, and sat peering over the edge to see Austin's arm. The arm led to the full body of Austin in an orange t-shirt sporting 'Camp Half-Blood' on it with a unicorn and some wings, or something.

He smiled at me sweetly, and winked. I suddenly felt like an idiot, as it looked like I was flirting with my own brother! GAH!

"Good morning, Miss McCarthy!" He handed me one of the orange shirts and grinned. Somehow I knew at the moment I would be use to that grin forever. I smiled back gratefully at him and pulled back some of the fallen hair from my face. I guess it was time to wake up.

I rose from my bed and quickly ran outside, much to the surprise of my fellow cabin mates. Austin followed quickly after I threw my orange shirt on. The heat poured into my skin like solar panels. And it was true, they DID, in fact, work that way. I was like a plant, to my disgust. I could sit there and regain energy and heat from the sun. I didn't like the fact that I could be considered a plant, plants didn't like me. I like fire. End of story.

The boy placed a hand on my shoulder, and recoiled at the touch. "You're hot!"

I smirked.

"I might be attractive, but you're my brother, it doesn't work that way."

Austin turned bright red in the summer sun. I knew it was definitely not from the heat. "N-No I mean, your shoulder is burning!"

"Tell me something I don't know." I sat down on the grass in front of the cabin and bathed in the sun happily. I felt completely regenerated after a few minutes, but sat in the same position out of pure pleasure. "I radiate heat, I can't get my body cold, or else I can get horrible sick, and maybe even die." I looked back at Austin, who was standing in the same spot, baffled.

I bet you I was the only Apollo who could do that.

"You're the only Apollo kid who can do that!" His jaw dropped, but stepped towards me into the sunlight. Point one, Joan. I liked being unique.

"Well, Chiron came by shortly before you woke up."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, and then went back to focusing on the volleyball net by the lake beach. Several satyrs were playing against each other, along with some nymphs. They looked happy, and I really wanted to go over there and join them. I liked volleyball.

Austin stuttered a bit, but continued nervously, like he was scared to break my enjoyment in the silence.

"He wants you to pass by the Big House when you're ready for the day…"

The words went into my ears, and I let them sit there for a bit before taking them into my mind. They settled, computed, and I lifted myself from the ground with a tired expression. One that most people have after laying in the sun on the beach for too long, but it felt so good.

"Okay, I'll do that then. Where are you headed?" I managed to ask through a cat-like stretch. He scratched his neck sheepishly, "I have canoeing, it's a skill I can do.". I laughed a bit. "What are you, Poseidon's son? Water god over here?" He smiled, and also ignored the whish of lake water nearby.

I waved to him after a few minutes taunting and left.

When I got to the big farmhouse, I could see Chiron and another man. Chiron, who was in a wheelchair, with the legs of man, didn't see me approach. The other man gave me a sly glare as I stepped onto the porch. The centaur I knew looked back at me after tallying up points on a sheet of paper with a smirk on his face.

"Ah! Joan, I'd like you to meet the camp counselor, Mr. D."

The older man gave me the same sly look, and took a drink from his can of Diet Pepsi. I knew this guy! Oh….it's on the tip of my tongue…I mentally stepped from one foot to another in the eagerness. Scary fiery eyes, short and stubby, rough skin and he looked kind of restless. As if he'd been drinking alcohol.

"You're Dionysus!"

"Smart kid, no respect though." Mr. D placed down a straight of cards and tallied up points himself.

"Joan, Gods don't appreciate being addressed like that." Chiron warned. I shrugged at him.

"Do I need to be lectured about gods again?" I groaned. Chiron just laughed, and thunder boomed above in the cloudless sky.

"Eh! Respect!" Mr. D shook his fist again, the fire in his eyes igniting.

"I can see you were in good hands, you know perfectly. But you'll have to watch our orientation video."

"…I have to sit down and watch a video?" ADHD freaked out inside me, and reared and jerked around. He did not like staying in one place.

Mr. D dragged me by the arm inside the farmhouse. I thought of one thing, RAPE, before I was thrown into a chair and forced to watch the crude orientation video.

By the time the video was over, I could swear my eyes were bleeding.

"DOES NOT ONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE AN ORIENTATION VIDEO ANYMORE?" I shouted. Chiron laughed, and led me towards a cabin different from my own.

Now that I could see the cabins clearly, it was stunning how amazing and complex each cabin was according to their masters.

Cabin one, presumably Zeus's cabin, and it was the biggest out of the twelve cabins I could see. At every spot you looked at the bronze door, lightning seemed to flash against it. It was cool, and I had a feeling it was completely empty. The columns were thick in front of the large marble white cabin.

Cabin Two, looking similar to Zeus, was the same though smaller. It had carvings of peacocks on the walls and it was surrounded with vines and flowers. Must be Hera.

Cabin three was a long and low cabin made of rough grey stone. On every wall there were seashells and all sorts of things you might find from the bottom of the ocean. 'SEA KING!' was the first thing that came to my head. How I loved Poseidon.

Cabin four was like a vegetarian kind of home. Tomatoes vines lined the walls and the roof was made of pure, 100% grass. Demeter must be the owner of this cabin.

Cabin five scared me. It had a bad paint job, chipped in some places, and was surrounded by barbed wire. I gulped as we passed by it, for the boar over the doorway had that Scooby-Doo painting feeling. You know, when Velma and Shaggy and Scooby pass by a painting of a person, and the eyes follow them around? Yeah, that feeling. I 'hid' behind Chiron on his other side.

Cabin six made me glare for some reason. It was silver, and there was an owl hanging over the doorway. Silver curtains were drawn over the windows, but other wise it looked like a normal cabin. The owl is a wise creature…so this must be Athena's cabin. A blonde girl was sitting on the porch reading a book. Her hair was long and curly, and she had a nice tan going on. Her eyes were an intimidating grey. Yup, definitely Athena.

"That's Annabeth; she's a star Athena child." Chiron nodded. "She's like a counselor here, we were going to have her show you around, but we saw an…inconvenience in that and chose another instead."

Glancing at Annabeth, I could tell we could get along. However, there was a strong feeling in my chest that a rivalry would happen between us. We would get along, but we COULDN'T. Weird, huh? I'll ignore her for the time being.

My own cabin was in light now, and it was the most brilliant thing I have ever seen. The cabin was engulfed in a golden light. So it looked like it was made of complete gold. I smiled happily as we passed. Apollo, you know best, you da man.

Cabin eight was the most obvious occupant to me. The cabin was silver, and I had a feeling that my aunt made it glow in the moonlight. Several carvings of animals graced the walls, and mostly the stag. Artemis…the virgin. It was a graceful animal, I liked it, such a pretty deer…man…thing.

"Your aunt stays here with her Hunters while they're in the area. Who knows, maybe you'll become a Hunter one day." Chiron shrugged.

The sun above protested, it flashed, as if the sunlight turned off for a moment, before flickering back on. I smiled.

"Maybe not." Chiron laughed lightly. "Your father must protest."

I had the feeling my father was protective over me. But at the same time…why had he had so many lovers? It was a long time before I noticed that I was the youngest Apollo child, just a year younger than the other youngest. No others were around or lower than my age. All the other children were between 14 and 18 years old.

Meaning I was the last Apollo child.

But why…

Chiron brought me out of my thoughts. At Cabin nine, there was a brick made cabin with little smoke stacks escaping the premises. I thought it was cute! It's like a little factory! It was totally Hephaestus's cabin. My centaur guide seemed to be walking towards it and so I followed suite, examining the last 3 cabins.

Cabin ten had a painted roof with pillars. The deck was a checkered board, which attracted me right away. Checkersssss. The walls were grey, and I could faintly see a really handsome boy with dark brown, long emo-ish hair and a pale white complexion. He had blue eyes and a rascal-shaped face. It took a lot of will power for me to look away.

Chiron started laughing at me. I felt my face heat up. "That's Aphrodite's son, Sean."

I put that name on a list of people who I'd never forget. First impressions mean everything I guess.

"He's feels like the odd one out, kind of like you. His Aphrodite attraction power only works on certain females, as I have noticed." He smirks knowingly and I swear if I didn't love horsey-man I would have eaten him alive or turned him into horse meat.

Cabin eleven was just a normal cabin. It was packed with campers. I thought for a moment, and then determined that it was Hermes' cabin.

We approached cabin nine and there sat a girl, about my age, with wavy light brown hair and daydreaming hazel eyes. Beside her, stood a plush cat-thing, its beady eyes glancing around. She was sitting with her legs propped up eating some chips. When she caught sight of Chiron, her eyes widened and she hid her chips. Standing up respectfully, she nodded to Chiron.

"How can I help you, sir?"

Chiron nodded back to her, and placed a hand on the small of my back to lead me forward. "This is Joan McCarthy; she's the new tenant in the seventh cabin."

The girl looked me up and down before smirking. "Apollo…ni-ice."

Chiron gave her a look, and she straightened up, a smirk on her face.

"Joan, this is Misa Amano, daughter of Hephaestus and the dryad Kaeya."

I snorted, and waited for Chiron to finish his lecture/speech to Misa. Finally, he said "Misa, show her around and be nice…"

He leaned forward and gave her another look. "And leave the purple horses ALONE this time, they like flesh."

I snickered; someone I knew spoke of purple horses living in the forest that eat flesh.

Chiron left, and I turned to Misa.

"…So Hephaestus did a tree?"

Misa gave me an angry look. I chuckled.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, and it's nice to meet you Miss Amano."

She examined my hand for a couple minutes, and took it. I smiled. New friends, yay!

"Nice to meet you, but…I warn you in advance…I'm a bit of a trouble maker." She grinned smartly, and instantly I knew we were going to be best friends.

"Same here, smart mouth, show me around camp," I accidently had a slip of the tongue, and muttered in a sort of a lisp, "Hephaestus."

Misa started to laugh, I laughed at her laugh, she laughed at mine, and then we were both toppled over with laughter. It was when someone cleared their throat that we stopped and looked up. The sun obscured my vision, but I made out the long emo hair of Sean. My face went red and I sat up straight. Misa took a bit longer than me, and sat up with a grin on her face.

"Oh hey Sean, what's up?"

The boy smiled at her and shrugged. "Nothing much, you two having fun?"

She nodded, and I sat on the grass feeling like an idiot. Damn it, first impressions…ugh.

"This the new camper?" He acknowledges me, and I swear I would have melted on the spot to avoid the whole thing. Maybe if my light bending worked better…

"Yeah, Joan McCarthy."

He offered me a hand, both to shake and to help me up. I took it, the colour rising in my face. "Hey." I muttered softly. He gave me a seductive grin. "Hey."

Misa gagged behind me, and I dramatically looked back with a whole movement of my head and glared. She laughed, and linked arms with me. "I'm sorry, but we ought to get going."

I pouted inwardly. Damn it. But Misaaaaa…

Sean shook his head with a laugh. "It's fine, lemme know when my sword is done. See you around Joan."

And when we were out of ear range, Misa glanced back at Sean, narrow-eyed, and then looked towards me.

"Don't be getting fresh already! ESPECIALLY with Aphrodite's cabin."

I snickered. "But I can't help meself!" I said in my Irish accent.

"John Lennon!" She pointed and screamed at me, then ran off towards the volleyball nets.

I started to laugh at the comparison to one of my favourite artists, then ran after her, swearing up a storm in Irish land.


	3. I Encounter One of Shreks Runaway Babies

3 - I ENCOUNTER ONE OF SHREK'S RUNAWAY BABIES

Misa and I walk back toward the cabins, laughing up a storm. We had almost pet the purple horses, but chickened out when Misa slipped and almost gotten herself eaten. Jun (Misa's plushie robot she created to warn off bad dreams about Gods she was related to) whirled its gears and clicked cutely. Misa waved frantically to an attractive blonde boy sparring with someone from Ares' cabin at the training grounds. I would be training tomorrow, and I was worried deeply about it, nervous too.

I instantly became scared. Standing nearby was a large, beefy girl wearing one of our Camp Half-Blood shirt. It must have been like 4 'X's large. Ares, god of war. She wore a camouflage jacket over the shirt. In this heat, she was crazier than me wearing my sweater.

I'm sorry, but she looked like freakin' baby Shrek...NO NO, She looked like she ate Chiron then the fifth floor of the Big House. Yeahhh...hehehe, she's a freakin' ogre.

The Ares descendant caught me looking at her and standing beside a waiting Misa, I tried the 'I don't know that crazy person yelling across the room' hand-to-right side of face act. That didn't make her happy. Soon as the blonde boy finished his spar with the other Ares, he approached us.

"Hey Nymph! How are you?" I saw the scar on his handsome face and instantly felt a pang of pity in my heart. Misa curtly nodded to him.

"I'm good, Luke, this is Joan McCarthy, she's the new demigod." She wrapped a friendly arm around me, and I made a face at her. Misa pretend to look hurt, and both Luke and I laughed. Her frown turned into a grin just as fast.

"Pleased to meet you, Joan," He stuck out a hand, and I took it like all the other hands today, "What cabin are you? Though I think you look like a familiar case..."

I was going to respond, but he snapped back to Misa for a moment. "She's already determined?" She nodded to him, and bent down to pick up Jun without hesitation.

...Sometimes I wondered about her. She was as strong as freakin' Hercules himself!

"I'm an Apollo." I stated blandly, and the corners of his lips tugged into a friendly smile.

"Thought so, you have the eyes." Luke patted my shoulder and continued to walk to the cabins with us. "Usually all the undetermined or those who are of minor Gods go to Hermes' cabin, he's my godly paternal figure."

I laughed lightly. "Must be packed then."

Luke ran a hand through his sweaty locks. The way he did so made him look like a supermodel, and I swear I could hear girls swooning nearby. "To the brim." He added.

"Joan's scared of training tomorrow." Misa said abruptly. I interrupted before she could humiliate me. "NERVOUS! Not scared! Difference!" I hissed.

"I see no difference, it all equals chicken." She shrugged.

I grabbed her collar; Jun hissed at me but sat in Misa's arms. "And a good ass-kicking, too." I gritted my teeth and she glared broadly into my eyes. Luke tore us apart, standing by Cabin Eleven.

"Guys, c'mon...we gotta get to dinner anyway..." He turned to me. "Don't worry, if you need any help tomorrow you can come ask me." He smiled, mischief hidden in those eyes of his, betraying his scar.

I nodded, defeated. I felt all the extra heat in me mull over and cool off. Misa was no longer angry, and stretched an arm in the air stiffly.

We parted ways, and returned to our own cabins. From Cabin Seven, I could see her and three other kids lining up and role calling.

Cabin Seven was already lined up in the courtyard when I got there.

"You're late." Michael stated flatly.

"Shove off smart-mouth." I growled, and got in line behind Tess. She gave me the thumbs-up and soon after we marched off to the pavilion to eat dinner.

And by eat dinner, I meant like EAT. FREAKIN'. DINNER. Shrek must have feasted here to be that big. She sat at table Five with all her other barbaric siblings. I shivered, and felt Adam's hand pat my shoulder reassuringly. "Don't provoke them, and you'll be okay." he whispered, and my eyes left table Five. We all sat at table Seven. I'm loving the lucky number.

Chiron stood up beside Mr. D. He rose a cup into the air and promoted, "To the Gods!" and everyone followed. I hesitated, not use to the toast, but did so anyway.

AND THE CUPS FILL THEMSELVES? I swear I was going to live off A&W Root Beer for the rest of my summers alive.

And after we ate and stuffed our faces, all the campers started to approach the fire at the middle of the pavilion. I follow curiously, my plate surprisingly still in my hands. Adam was behind me again, and laughed at my confused expression. "Burnt food offerings to the Gods." He smiled. I gave him an even more confused look, my eyes questioning. Adam chuckled and nudged me forward.

I stared into the fire…and instantly thought of the first stupid thing I'd do at Camp Half-Blood.

I caught Misa's eye a few campers behind me. She looked at my evil grin curiously. I let a piece of beef dangle from my fingers, and grinning at her.

"Hephaestus." I muttered in my lisp, and she started laughing in the line, leaning on Charlie, her half-brother, for support.

The rest of the campers look at us funny.

Yes, that was the first stupid thing I did at camp.

Mr. D stood up at the front of the pavilion.

"I'd like to introduce a new demi-god to our ranks." He started to announce. I groaned and had a head-desk moment. "Jessie McCartney...wha-" Chiron eagerly pulled Mr. D aside, some campers restrained from laughing.

He rose again. "Joan McCarthy, of Cabin Seven."

There was clapping, and I felt Shrek's eyes on me. This wouldn't end well.

Mr. D continued to speak. "Capture the flag will be tomorrow, don't you kids forget! The current flag rests with Cabin Six."

Athena's table made very small gestures of excitement. Debby Downers, I thought.

"Now, away you silly children, go have that campfire of yours!"

I had no idea where I was going, so I just followed the group of people clearing out of the pavilion towards the amphitheatre. It was then that I felt someone grab my arm. Scared and definitely surprised, I yelped out a curse and Julia yelped back.

"What's wrong!" She stuttered, leading me towards the other Apollo's.

"You scared the crap out of me, that's what!" I whimpered under my breath, waiting for my heart to regain its pace. The other Apollo's watched me, until I was handed my sweater from Lee.

"T-Thank you, Lee…how did you…"

"Austin." He replied simply. I looked at the blushing sandy-haired boy standing between Kayla and Will Solace. "So why am I dragged away…?"

"Apollo's cabin leads the sing-along!" Tess smiled at me, and I panicked.

"N-No!"

"What's wrong, you are an Apollo…"

"C-Can I sit this one out?"

The Apollos look at Lee, and he contemplated for a little before speaking. "Since it's your first day, we'll let you off with a warning."

I cheer mentally, and ran away from them. They watched me leave, and I sat down near the fire pit. Misa looked at me nearby and sat beside me. "Not singing?"

"Nah, I need my guitar anyways."

Charlie sat beside her, just sitting, muttering to himself. I looked at him, but backed off when my cabin started singing. Someone sat down beside me, and I was surprised and embarrassed to see Sean.

"Hey." He smiled sweetly. Melting…

"H-Hey…" I stuttered, curling back some hair behind my ear. Misa gave me rolling eyes, but dropped it, threw me some encouraging looks, and went to get s'mores with her half-brother and Jun, not to far at her heels.

"Not singing?" He asked softly, and I admired the sweet tone of his voice.

"N-No, they let me take the day off." I responded, and he laughed musically. No wonder he was so attractive…he was the son of Aphrodite!

"Nice. You know I never got to properly introduce myself." Sean added, and did this whole hair-flip thing I was so use to from my mortal classmates at school.

"Nope, you didn't." I was regaining my composure, luckily.

The attractive guy stuck out a hand, and I took it humbly. "I'm Sean, Aphrodite's cabin."

"Joan McCarthy, Apollo offspring." He chuckled.

"I'd figure."

"Silly Mr. D." I smiled sweetly.

The rest of the night went without hesitation. Sean and I hit it off, he was a sweet guy. His attraction didn't work on too many girls, as Chiron told me, because his hair stereotyped him. Honestly, I was glad I loved emo hair. It was soft.

…shut up, I like emo hair, that is that.

But he was a nice guy, and in one years time I didn't think I'd end up liking someone else.

Yet like most of my guesses, the unlucky guesses, I was wrong.

We all heard the conch horn and headed back to out cabins.

I was eager for the rest of my summer, especially capture the flag days.

That night I slept peacefully, as I did for the rest of the summer.


	4. I Unexpectantly Fall In Love With

4 – I UNEXPECTANTLY FALL IN LOVE WITH A WATER BENDER

What a waste of my time!

I came ready to fight a Minotaur, and instead found a passed out Grover and a stage-avoiding demi-god.

My training was going to waste! God damn it. I was starting to sound like Annabeth. Or Luke. They've been acting weird lately. It had been a few days since the incident with the Minotaur and the new demi-god. Some Percy Jackson guy.

People were looking at me funny the day of capture the flag. I had been training hard and not showing up for most things. I wanted to impress my father, because sooner or later, I would start being a year-round.

That one girl I had been terrified of the first day of camp a year ago was Clarisse, a scary, bullying Ares daughter with no pity in her heart. I wanted to see the look on her face when I destroyed her in capture the flag today.

I sat at Apollo's table in the pavilion for dinner. I wasn't hungry anymore. Misa lectured me a lot about it. She told me food gave me energy, but I was in withdrawal. Why, you may ask, am I so depressed, angry, and proving all of a sudden?

Last month, my mother was taken in. That is, the crazy house. I tried to help her, be she told me there was nothing that I could do. People thought she was crazy for talking of gods and creatures and other myths.

And it was so hard to see a truthful woman being pulled in by the wrong ones.

I rested my head on my hand and sighed sadly. From the 10th table, I could see Sean giving me worried glances. I shook my head at him, and he still gave me a look. Austin patted my shoulder and muttered in my ear.

"We're really going to need you in capture the flag tonight, PLEASE come to your senses." He pleaded, the friendliness in his green eyes were replaced with a look of genuine sadness.

I heard whispers from table 5, and dramatically glared at them. They were staring at me, and Clarisse gave me a toothy grin that was worth of a baboon. The face of the creature I would crush mortally. I'll kill her, I'll rip her to shreds, I'll—

"WE'LL KILL YA!" Julia shouted at her, and the room laughed. It even managed to get me to laugh more than I had laughed this whole week. Clarisse's menacing stare didn't make Julia shrink in her seat; instead, she sat up high and patted my back reassuringly. "And Joan'll be the one to take you dowwwwwn!"

My face heat up when everyone cheered. Well, mostly tables Eleven, Seven, Nine, and Ten. I felt proud to be supported. Very proud, actually. It raised my spirit a little to have so many people on my side. I smiled at some of the people who gave me the thumbs up, and glared at Clarisse from afar.

As soon as the plates were cleared off, we offered to the gods, and the conch signal blew, we were standing at our tables watching Ares' children and Athena's children bring in their flags. Athena's flag was silver, and graced with an owl over an olive tree. Ares' flag was less breath-taking, blood red with a bloody spear and a boar's head. They should put Clarisse's head on it, it would suffice, and she's a pig. I snickered to myself.

We all waited anxiously for them to announce teams. Annabeth came forward first. "Athena takes Hermes and Apollo." Both tables broke out into cheers and stood up to join Athena's cabin. Ares took everyone else, and I gave Misa a sympathetic look. She looked back at me, but shrugged and mouthed 'good luck' before crossing over to the dark side of the pavilion. Sean punched my shoulder very lightly when he passed by.

Great, I'd have to face some of my best friends.

…But at least I got to beat up Clarisse.

I smirked evilly.

Chiron bucked up and clattered his hooves against the marble floor. All the demigods looked at him.

"Campers, Heroes!" His voice boomed, "I suspect you all know what to do! No more than two guards, the creek is our boundary! Magic items are allowed, disarming only! Smidgeons and gags are prohibited! Archers, can not use deadly shots. Maiming and Killing are a no; I will serve as your referee and field medic, now arm yourselves, heroes!"

The equipment appeared with a wave of his large hands. I smirked and walked away with a helmet. The ones with the cute blue horsehair plumes. I mentally hugged myself. I loved horsehair plumes.

Quickly I armed myself with my bow, Ultima, and my shield Psyclonusia. My bow was bronze hilted with a silver bow string. My shield was half my size and took up little of my arm. It was the size of my chest and ended at my hip, so as it was lighter on my feet. The shield was the shape of a whirlwind, blue and navy swirling together in all its evil. In capture the flag, I only used arrows of light and sound. Metal arrows could kill, so I toned down all my arrows to stun.

However, I put Ultima on my back and unsheathed my silver Sinada. It was a one handed sword of silver and steel, very basic. She was light, so it was easier for me, being an assassin. I wasn't so good with sword fighting as I was with archery, but I could defend myself pretty well.

"Blue team, forward!" Annabeth called out nearby. I followed after the leader, cheering and trusting my sword in the air. Today, Clarisse went down!

I caught sight of the black-haired boy catching up to Annabeth. That must be Percy. I smirked happily. Fresh meat! Yay~

I lowered my Psyclonusia arm, and caught up to Annabeth myself. "Hey there, Athena." I smirked. She smirked back at me. "Yo, Apollo, how's it hanging?"

Percy stared at us curiously, his sea-green eyes scanning my face eagerly.

"Nothing much, what's the plan?"

She looked at me with a bored look, but I continued grinning at her. She muttered something about going invisible and taking the flag by surprise, and I butt in immediately.

"But going invisible is so cowardly!"

"Just stand guard, already!"

I sighed and agreed with a nod. I want to make the plans next time. She pointed me off in the direction of the creek. And as I jogged off, she called after me.

"Watch out for Clarisse's spear!"

"Will do!" I called back and swiftly ran off into the woods. My job was to border the border patrol, which was stupid, but I didn't complain. I hid in the tree, or rather close to it. I hung off the tallest branch and kept my eyes peeled. There were movements in the dark, and I half-wished I was like my aunt, who was goddess of the moonlight. I saw a rustling bush about 5 feet away and I pushed myself higher up onto the tree branch and right up against the trunk.

It was then that I saw it was an ally, Percy. I examined him, and he seemed to notice he was being watched. He was looking around; eye narrowed, but continued walking around my tree.

"Percy." I whispered.

He jumped like five feet and looked up, his sword raised. I jumped down from my tree and landed on my feet beside him. Percy took a swing at me, and if I hadn't been ready for it he would have gotten me good. I raised Pysclonusia to block his blow and hissed at him.

"Not yet! And it's me! You're gonna give us away!" Reaching forward and covering his mouth was the first thing that came to my mind. Percy stopped moving around and calmly shifted his green eyes to look at me. I released him slowly and he watched me for a couple of minutes, taking in the appearance of his fellow teammate. Slowly the heat rose in my cheeks.

"W-What?" I stuttered. He didn't say anything at first, but then shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered. My ears would have twitched, if I were an animal, at his voice. It amused me. It was low and sad, like grief, but smooth, caring, and happy.

"You must be Percy Jackson then?" I nodded slowly at him; the helmet teetered around, being too large for my small head.

"Yeah, and who are you?" He stated bluntly. My eyebrows rose at the rudeness, and he rebalanced his footing. "I mean…it nice to meet you miss…?"

I laughed very quietly, as to not attract attention. "McCarthy, Joan." I said softly as the conch horn blew in the background.

Percy smiled and whispered an 'alright'.

Something attracted my attention.

"Good, now…DUCK!" I grabbed the boy by the arm, which took him by surprise, and entered battle with Jake. Misa's half-brother slashed towards my stomach and I backed away, stabbing forward. He blocked low, and I sent my shield arm up into his unguarded face.

Jake groaned and it turned into an angry growl. He aimed the hilt of his sword at my helmet and smashed down. I fell backwards and rolled away sending the aim of Jake's sword into the ground. A low clank and an 'Urf!' gave me the safety to open my eyes for the blow I expected to receive. Percy stood where Jake previously did, the hilt of his sword raised in the air.

Jake was on the floor beside me, knocked out, his red horsehair plume sticking upwards. I looked up at Percy awestricken. No one had saved me before. I usually did things myself, without Misa around anyway. Something lurched in my chest when I got up. Percy actually saved a solitary Apollo…

"Thanks Percy." I panted quietly, catching my breath.

"Actually I didn't think I could do it." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

I smiled at him, and I then heard yelling nearby. Panicked, I turn around, sword raised. Percy doing the same at my right, though not looking very balanced. Emerging from the bushes, Adam ran to my side. I looked at his worried expression, and soon Austin and Lee followed, all five of us standing in the whispering night.

"What happened!" I whispered to Austin hoarsely.

Austin turned to me, and Lee waited anxiously. "We got into a fight with and Aphrodite and an Ares, which is a weird combination."

Adam smirked. "The Aphrodite was your boyfriend."

I hissed at him, and Percy raised an eyebrow and a smirk at Adam, and Adam gave him the thumbs up.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Lee snorted.

"Oh shut up Lee! He's not!" Wrapping my arm around his neck, I noogied the crap out of his head, and he laughed. The bush rustled, and one of Clarisse's sisters approached us menacingly. Adam sent us off to guard the creek, and engaged in battle against the sister with Lee. Percy and I ran out into the clearing, and I welcomed the moonlight in the clearing. It felt better to be able to see.

I nodded to Percy and told him my plan. He agreed, but hesitated a bit. I reassured him, patting his shoulder gently before climbing up into a tree not far behind the boy standing guard.

After being there for a few minutes, I stared down at the creek from my lounging position. I had my bow held lazily in my hand. Austin ran out of the woods, whooping and cheering, then jumped over the creek passed Percy and ran into enemy territory. Percy stood there, staring blankly.

Afterwards he started staring around, nervously. I was about to ask him what was wrong but out of the woods, five Ares children came. Clarisse was among them. She shouted 'Cream the punk!' and they all charged into the stream. I raised my bow, and waited for the right time to attack.

Clarisse shoved her electric-tipped spear at Percy and he blocked with his shield. However I could see the shock going through him. Another one of her comrades hit Percy with his sword and he fell into the dirt. They laughed at him while he lied on the ground.

"Give him a hair cut!"

Jeez this reminded me of that book 'The Outsiders'. But I couldn't help yet. No matter how the anger built up in my chest and burned through my skin, I could not strike yet. I took my sweater off, the heat of my skin unbearable in my anger. I tied it around my waist and knelt down in my tight black shirt, aiming and manipulating sound into a glowing grey arrow.

Percy got up and threw her spear aside. I felt bad…angry again. The heat raised in my body.

"Oh wow, I'm scared of this guy, really scared!" She hissed through a smirk.

"The flag is that way.' Percy spat in a whimper. His voice betrayed how Percy seemed.

"Yes, we don't care about that thing…" One boy started. "We care about the guy who made our cabin look bad."

"You can do that without my help." Percy spat again.

I let go of my arrow, and it smashed into on of Clarisse's siblings. His helmet gonged and he fell to the floor. Clarisse attacked Percy and her other siblings slashed his arm. I aimed again, slamming the other Ares in the chest. She fell back and was knocked out.

Clarisse growled and struck Percy with her spear in the ribs. He felt back into the creek and moaned something low.

I jumped down from my tree and ran forward to strike Clarisse angrily. She and two others watched me and growled angrily.

I lurched forward and struck Clarisse's ribs. She laughed at the feeling and shoved me back, recoiling when I fell into the dirt. She had touched my burning skin. Percy suddenly rose from the water, looking completely fine. He swung the flat of his sword against one of the guy's head. The ugly fell into the creek and Percy attacked the other with his shield. He smashed him in the face and fought one of the guys I shot before.

Clarisse advanced on me, and I back away slowly. "Do you really want to risk getting burned again, missy?" I let a mischievous smirk grace my face as I kept stepping backwards. She raised her spear and growled. The murderous grin on her face would make babies cry and mirrors crack. I stood my ground, and she took a jab at me.

I pulled to the side and ducked, punching her knees and crying out in pain. She was huge; her knees literally cracked my fists. I crawled out from under her and ran to Percy, aiming sound arrows at her as I ran. The last Ares tripped me and I skid in the dirt. Percy ran to my side and stood next to my fallen body, facing the last two cabinmates.

I spat out dirt and sand, trying to rise from my state. It hurt, a lot. I groaned and picked myself up. I heard Clarisse yell behind me.

"You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

I rose and kicked her down. She had bashed her huge hands down on my lower arms before she fell backwards. Percy looked at me with a worried expression behind his angry battle face. I let him kick her round, out of the creek. Victory screeches caught us by surprise. Luke ran passed, some of his brothers protecting him. Austin, Tess, and Julia were fighting off Misa and Charlie, Cody not far behind. Luke held Ares' cabin's flag up high over his head, whooping loudly. I screamed at him, not out of anger, but of sheer proud-ness.

"YES! THAT'S OUR LUKE!" I pumped a fist into the air, and felt woozy all of a sudden. Percy supported me from the side.

"Are you okay?"

I thought, and then nodded slowly. "I'll be…okay." His hand was on my skin, but he didn't flinch nor did he recoil. In front of us, Clarisse tried to chase down Luke.

"A trick! It was a trick!"

But she was too late. Misa groaned angrily, successfully getting my half-sister Tess out of the way, but saw Luke had crossed into friendly territory.

We had won!

I ran-limped across the creek and into Luke, punching his arms and kissing his forehead. "YOU FREAKIN' DUMBASS!" I laughed. He was a brother to me, it meant nothing. He turned red, but laughed along. "Yeah, kinda." The flag turned silver, and replaced the boar. Misa came to my side and noogied me.

"Player."

I glanced at her, and mouthed Grover, and then mouthed my brother's name. She turned bright red, and continued to noogie me. I growled, and started panting.

"What's wrong?" She asked politely.

"It's really HOT."

"You were mad?"

"…Yeah."

"Why…?"

I stopped and looked at her with a vague expression. "They were hurting him."

"…Percy?" She stared at me, and I blinked at her tiredly. Everyone was celebrating around us, and I looked over at Percy. He was standing there examining his arm next to Annabeth. I felt a pang of jealousy in my heart and knew right away that when he saved me from Jake, I had fallen for him.

"Yeah." I stated blandly. Misa snorted.

"So who the hell is it! Luke, Sean, or Percy?"

"I don't like Luke." I pointed out obviously.

"So you kissed his forehead for no reason?" Misa said sarcastically.

"Actually," I looked back at her with a grin. "Yeah, I did. It was sheer sportsmanship I guess. Lots of competitive girls do it."

She snorted again. "Yeah, right, Okay."

I sniffed, and sneezed. Oh no…

Misa perked up beside me, something was disturbing her. Her beautiful hazel eyes were wide with fear. "Oh Gods! CHIRON!"

I raised my bow and at that instant the stench was unbearable. An ear-splitting, horror-striking howl erupted from the woods. All the cheering stopped and Chiron shouted in ancient Greek, which I could finally understand. "GET ME MY BOW!"

Annabeth drew her sword, and Misa drew her anthame. Safeguard erupt from her arms. I pulled a metal arrow from my bag as the blood-hound appeared on the rock in front of Percy, staring right at him…

It lunged at him, and I shouted at him. "Percy, NO!"

The bloodhound shred through his armour. I couldn't move, I was fear stricken. Not for myself, but for the life of Percy.

Misa shouted desperately in my ear, "C'mon Joan, SHOOT!"

It was crazy, I only came to my senses when if was over. The hound had fallen over, death, off of Percy.

A cluster of arrows stuck out of the hound's neck, and a metal arrow struck at its chest. Misa stared at me, and I knew my eyes were wide, my arms were limp, and I had no feeling. It had done itself.

I helped kill a bloodhound. No no, a hell hound.

I couldn't move.

Annabeth led Percy into the water, Chiron watching intensely. I couldn't hear anything. Things went in and out of my ears.

I saw the trident over Percy's head, but that's all I remember.

Because my legs gave way, and I passed out.


	5. I Bond With the Lonely Ones

5 – I BOND WITH THE LONELY ONES

In my dream, I remember sitting by the shore. It was stormy, but you could still see the sun. Percy came up behind me, grinning. I smiled back at him, and he rubbed his nose against my neck. Then he sat behind me and pulled me into an embrace. And I didn't mind it, like it was a routine.

I sat up from my sickbed, my head spinning. At the foot of my bed, Jun sat purring at my feet. Misa sat at the side of my bed, and she glared at me. I prepared myself for her lecture.

"YOU HAD ME WORRIED YOU IDIOT!" She yelled, pulling me into a hug. I laughed awkwardly, and patted her head. When she let go, her hazel eyes scanned me worriedly. I gave her a look, telling her I was fine. Grover appeared in the sick room and smiled at me. I hadn't seen him for a while.

I stuck out my arms for a hug, and he laughed. Grover came forward and hugged me. I noticed the bandages on my arms and looked at Grover curiously. He sighed, and pulled up a chair beside Misa.

"So…what happened to me, Mr. Underwood?"

He rubbed his hands nervously, and I could swear I heard him 'Bla!' quietly.

"Chiron says you got hit fatally close to your Achilles Heel." Grover muttered. Misa smirked at me evilly.

"Now I know where to threaten you."

"Where?" I tested her, and she shut her mouth quickly, pouting.

"How long have I been out?" I pressed on. Grover smiled and tended to someone beside me. "Not too long, just the night."

"It's like 7am now." Misa sighed, rubbing her temples. "I've been here since 5."

"Aww, were you that worried about me, Miss Amano?"

"Shut up, McCartney."

"Don't discriminate my love for the Beatles." I growled, and she just patted Jun softly, ignoring me, toying with me in a way I disliked very much.

Misa's eyes watched me from their corners. A grin was on her face, but she constantly darted her eyes to Grover, as if expecting him to leave. He didn't, so she just blurted it anyway.

"Percy was here." She piped up, and my face turned beet red. I remembered my dream about him, and panicked. "S-Shut up MISA!"

Grover 'bah'-ed and grinned all-knowingly. A warning look made him look away with fear in his eyes. He knew fully well I'd destroy him. Shoot the messenger.

…curiosity got the better of me.

"What'd he say?" I smiled sheepishly to Misa. She grinned to Grover, and Grover smiled back at her, then got up and pranced outside into the fresh air. There were clouds outside. It made me feel depressed. "He said he didn't know why he'd come."

"That's typical of him; he's kind of a crazy flake." I laughed. She joined me, and with Jun in her lap, spoke to him quietly in Morse code. Then she looked upwards at me when I got out of the bed warily. "You dreamt about him." Misa smirked mischievously. I blushed, and pulled on my Camp shirt without a word.

As we strode out into the sun, I felt regenerated again. Then I remembered Percy last night. A trident appearing over his head…I thought of Cabin Three. He was the son of Poseidon. I squee-ed inside. Poseidon was like my favourite god. A son of the Big Three, who knew? Certainly not I.

"How did you know I dreamt of him, Misa?" I asked her seriously. She gave me a smirk, testing me as if she thought I was joking, but when she saw the look on my face, her smirk dropped and she looked at me seriously as well. "It's a nature thing. I mean…I've known you for a long time now…I know what you think just by your nature…"

I nodded slowly. I understood what she meant. "Is it like you empathetic link with Grover?"

"Not exactly." She pondered her mind for a second. "I just know what you think like…plus your face in your sleep." Misa smirked and patted my shoulder. "I see a rivalry between Sean and Percy in your near future."

"Pah, do you see a rivalry between me and Annabe-"

"Hey, Joan!"

I look back as Annabeth approached me. I put on a fake, strained smile and Misa tried to hold back snickers behind me. She stood in front of me, folding back some of her curls.

"How are you feeling? You had an amazing aim with that hellhound, I'm impressed."

I smiled, genuinely this time. It really WAS me who had killed it…with Chiron's help, of course. It was the craziest impulse I've ever had.

"I'm okay I guess, but I feel like I've been hit by a bus, and thanks."

She nodded with a smile on her face.

Misa pulled at my arm, and I yelped. She apologized immediately, and reminded me that we had classes to attend. It hit me when she reminded me, and I waved to Annabeth as I left for arts and crafts.

At the arts and crafts, I didn't see any of the Apollos. Instead, Aphrodite's kids were sprawled everywhere. They were making plates with iconic demigods and gods on them. I sat with them, yawning and scratching my neck. One of Aphrodite's kids smiled at me, and her brother, attractive and very daze-creating, gave me a thumbs-up. I nodded at them politely and sat down to attend to my own plate.

Adam came over to me and glomped me. He kept cooing about how worried he was.

"Did you have fun fighting Misa last night?" I breathed when he let me free from his death grip. Adam glared, the slightest flush meeting his finely formed cheeks.

"Shut up Joan." He whispered, but came in close and muttered. "No, I didn't…could you…?"

I snorted, my eyes still focused on my plate, sporting the dazzlingly handsome figure of the ancient Greek god, Apollo. My sexy father, how people should be envious. "I'll put in a good word for you…and maybe even convince Athena to…you know."

Adam's hand brushed back some of my hair. I smiled. He was always so brotherly. No shit Sherlock…

But he was, and it made me feel so much better about myself.

"Thanks love." He sat down beside me and took out some clay to start forming his plate.

As soon as I reached for the paint, a hand accidently bumped mine. Adam's eyes widened and he coughed a little, 'Oh shit." underneath his breath. The hand was warm, but rough at the same time, and I recognized it immediately from our 'date' a couple days ago.

"Oh…Sean!" I smiled nervously. I didn't expect to see him so soon. But what was I kidding? Arts and Crafts with Aphrodite, was obvious. His gently blue eyes met mine, a sad look in his eyes.

"Hey…"

"Hey." I responded quietly.

He sat in his seat, squirming a bit. Said male was uncertain about what to say.

"How are you feeling?" His voice came out low, barely audible. Adam tried not to butt in, his hand roaming over the bumps on his plate as he sketched a template onto the surface. Adam's eyes flickered from the plate to me every so often.

"Fine, Chiron says they almost hit my wrists." Sean nodded, totally understanding what I meant.

"Ah, one of Clarisse's brothers almost hit my collar bone last night." He pressed on. I smiled at him, and as if the silent spell lifted, he smiled back, his eyes sparkling happily.

"She's stupid; I got them good last night."

Sean laughed, grabbing a brush from the paint box and sloshing red on his plate. I stood up slightly and peered over the table on my toes. "Whatcha drawing?"

His face turned red and he pushed the plate towards me. It was a painting of Hermonia hand-in-hand with Orpheus. "Why Harmonia and Orpheus? Orpheus had a wife." As I stood, confused, his face turned a worse shade of red.

"It's hard to explain."

Adam nudged me, and pointed to the climbing wall. I nodded at him. We had like a telepathic way of communicating to each other. He would look at me, I'd look at him, and understand perfectly.

"I gotta go Sean, I'll see you later?"

"Y-Yeah, definitely." He smiled, and as I got up to leave, he called my name again. I turned to look at him, and he wrapped me in an embraced. Aphrodite's daughters giggled mockingly at the table. Adam sighed and whistled nonchalantly.

"I'm glad you're okay." He murmured into my hair, and I felt foreign eyes watching my red face.

At the climbing wall, I caught sight of Misa. Adam's face looked determined. I did a cheer in my head. That brother of mine was hopeless, but I wasn't about to let my brain know it! Oh…wait…

Misa hung off the wall, one hand on the rock, the other wiping her forehead. Jun whirled encouragingly beside my leg. I smiled at him and lifted him up. He blinked at me and clicked his cogs to creating a purring sound.

The dryad offspring waved frantically at us and lost her footing. She fell downwards, and I instantly sprung into action.

…Unfortunately, Adam got there first.

He caught her in his arms, and her face went bright red. I smirked at them and she gave me a look. Simultaneously, they hissed "Say nothing." So I walked up to the wall and left my brother to flirt with his flower.

I lifted my body off the ground, and the lava began to flow and spew. I growled, it was on! I swung myself from rock to rock, climbing up the dreaded wall. It shook violently, and I lost my grip for a second. I tipped backwards, Adam cheering for me from the bottom of the wall. Misa, meanwhile, was hissing at the Ares son who dared to challenge me. He gave me a toothy grin from the other side of the wall and climbed it faster.

Oh yeah…it was ON!

In archery class, Tess and Julia had literally demolished of any sanity I had left. They tackled me and held me down, bombarding me with questions like hellfire. I aimed at the target with the effort worth an Olympic gold medal. My eyebrows were furrowed as I aimed; three arrows were in my bowstring.

In the corner of my eye, I could see Annabeth and Percy. I let one of the arrows go, convincing myself to calm down and that it was nothing. It landed right in the middle. Adam patted my back encouragingly, very impressed with such an aim.

Annabeth had gotten too close for my standers, and I growled in my throat when I let the other arrow go. It broke through the previous arrow, landing in the same spot. The material of the target cracked a little. Julia looked over at me, and noticed my furrowed eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" She whispered, hitting her arrow close to the middle of her target. I shook my head, but kept letting my eyes wander back to Percy and Annabeth. Julia's eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh!" Then she put down her bow and gave me a gesture of reassurance. Said sister of mine skipped over to Percy, and I could see her nodding and pointing towards the archery range. I made a mental note to kill her later. Adam pulled back his bow and smirked. "Heads up relatives, the new boyfriend's coming."

All the present Apollos laughed, and they shot their arrows in timed unison. First was Tess, then Lee, Michael, Kayla, Aethinia, Adam, Arianna, Will, Austin, and then myself. I ended the parade with the third arrow cracking through the second and the first in the same spot. My siblings nodded encouragingly and gave me praises. I like archery, it was just sooooo easy!

Annabeth and Percy stood nearby with Julia. She beckoned to me, and I felt embarrassed again. But I complied and stepped towards them. I felt like I was on death row. I'd like to write my will now…make sure Austin gets my mom's poster of Taylor Swift.

I put on another fake smile and greeted them. Julia cleared her throat and patted Percy on the shoulder. He looked at her, a very faint blush on his handsome features. "Percy has something to say to you." She winked, and I shook my head smiling at her.

Annabeth muttered something about seeing to Grover and left. Percy looked around nervously, looking anywhere but at me. He was thinking, I could tell. Then, he looked at me with a cool, collected gaze.

"Thanks, for…you know."

Well isn't he charming?

I shook my head at him, my curly locks moving with my head. "It's no problem."

"No…really…you saved me from Pig head and her siblings…they would have maimed me if you hadn't been there."

"It's what I do, don't worry about it."

He stopped talking after that.

We both stood in awkward silence. Then I looked at him again. "So has Chiron moved you into your Cabin already?"

Percy's head lifted from his intense stare at the ground. It nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it's pretty lonely being the Don of the Sea King."

I laughed lightly. At least he had a sense of humour. He smiled up at me when I laughed. I started to walk towards the sea…lake…well the beach. Percy followed after me, and I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Would you like to join me…?" I chuckled at him, and he shrugged, but followed anyway.

"It feels nice that someone doesn't ignore me." Percy muttered in the silence of the waves after a while.

I looked up at him from my seat on the sand. "What do you mean? Why would people ignore you?" I asked.

He sighed and sat down beside me. I remembered my dream again and felt a nosebleed coming on.

Percy looked out over the sea and the reflection pooled in his green eyes. It was impossible for me not to admire how handsome the 12/13-year-old actually was for his age. His shaggy black hair was dull in the overcast the clouds created. His green eyes stared off dreamily. I felt my heart lurch again.

"I think it's because my dad is one of the Big Three. People probably think I'm like a God myself that they have to respect." Percy traced and flicked some sand with his fingers in swirls. "Or they think I'm weird and worth of evasion."

Thunder rumbled from above, and Percy looked up at it with a smirk. I did the same.

"That God, he's very fitty, isn't he?" I looked up at the clouds, imagining Zeus' angry face staring back at her. Percy chuckled again, his voice softer.

"Happy you're not being ignored, Mr. Jackson?" I ran a hand through my long curly hair softly. Percy's lips curved into a small smile. "Yeah." He replied honestly, and he opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by another familiar voice.

"McCartney!"

I winced, and looked back at Clarisse, standing there with her posse. I look away, upset and somewhat scared for once. She almost hit my Achilles Heel! I wasn't going to get involved with her again until I regained composure. Percy looked back and glared, long and hard.

"What are you looking at, Seaweed Brain?" She hissed, and kicked sand our way. I flinched when the sand hit my back, but didn't care. I wasn't in the mood, anyway. I'd slay her if I hadn't almost gone into a coma. Percy leaned in closer to me.

"Doesn't this aggravate you!" He whispered hoarsely, fairly close to my ear. I could almost feel his lip, which was both squee and uncomfortable. I stayed limp and did nothing.

"Aww, Seaweed King and the Sun Queen are hooking up!~" Clarisse cackled. Percy snapped his head back and glared angrily. I stood up and looked at her.

"Back off." I said through clenched teeth. My jaw twitched. I was angry now, why can't she just leave us damn well alone? Percy stood at my side and slightly in front of me. Like he was protecting me.

…Percy?

…Nah.

"Make me," She came closer, but Percy stood between us. He gave her a ferocious look that made her laugh.

"Move."

"No."

"I said MOVE!" She shoved him into the sand. He coughed, but stood up and the water rumbled in waves behind him. His breath came out uneven and angry. His eyes had a fiery burn to them.

Clarisse's sister backed away slowly. The other gulped hopelessly.

I growled at Clarisse, and a sunbeam broke through the clouds. My skin glowed in the light, and I slowly let the light intensify, to a blinding level. She blinked widely, and tackled me down. I wheezed underneath her weight and swore up a storm in Irish at her.

Next thing I knew, I was surrounded in water.

Except…I was okay. It was like a little bubble. I watched from my bubble as Percy had waves drag Clarisse back and forth, and he sent her soaking towards camp. She kept looking back, shouting words I could not hear through the sound of water in my ears, literally. The bubble made me feel…happy.

Percy faced me, and grinned. I smiled back at him, and placed a hand on the perimeter of my bubble.

I don't know what the feeling was, but maybe it was the attraction of the Sun to the Water.

I mean, think about it. When has the sun ever not been involved with water?

The bubble incasing me shuffled to the shore, and Percy reached a hand into my safety case. He pulled me out of the water, and surprisingly I wasn't wet at all.

"That was brilliant!" I laughed while he let the bubble pool back into the sea. Percy chuckled and let his arm drop to his side, the other returning after letting go of my hand.

"I have no idea how I did that." Admitting honestly, he flinched when I ruffled his hair. "You're already, Jackson."

"Not too bad yourself." Percy's eyes scanned my face for a reaction, and got nothing negative. So he smiled at me, and I walked with him back to the camp feeling lighter.

Clarisse got her ass handed to her twice. I was satisfied, I made a new friend, and I would be glad to kick her ass another round. Apollo's daughter took no crap from no one.

I saw Misa talking with Grover in the background, and Percy called out at the sweet satyr.


	6. I Figure Palm Reading is So for Amateurs

6 – I FIGURE PALM READING IS SO FOR AMATEURS

Percy stood beside Grover, panting him on the back and conversing in a friendly manner with the satyr. Misa smirked at them when they started to punch each other in a brotherly manner.

"Just like brother, huh?" I grinned beside her, and she nodded with a laugh. Misa and I could be considered similar. Similar…but different. Like…I like fire, but she likes plants and such, stuff that fire burns. Or I'd like milk chocolate, she'd like dark chocolate. It was a complicated process.

Either way, we were different but similar.

"So what were you two up to?" Grover smirked at Percy, and the slightest blush ghosted his cheeks. "Teaching Clarisse a lesson." I piped up, and Misa patted my shoulder and noogied me.

"TWICE IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS? THAT'S MY JOAN!" She laughed and I chuckled, trying to get her off of me. "GEROFF!" I shouted after countless minutes of snickering and noogie-ing. Misa let me go, and Jun appeared on her shoulder.

"That thing's creepy." I pointed out. She hissed.

"And it got toilet water all over you." Grover hid behind a voice of the courageous man. Yet Misa's death glare at both him and Percy made him shrink. Percy's face turned red. "I-I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Misa faked a smile. I knew she was truly angry, but she wouldn't take it out on the new kid. Maybe it was genuine though? Eh, I didn't remember her secrets to her moods.

"So what happened?" I asked Percy, an evil smirk returning to my face. Percy opened his mouth to speak, but hooves approached us gently, clopping along the ground. Chiron bowed his heads to us, and we bowed back. Percy hesitated a bit, but followed.

"What's up, dude?" I held up a hand to high-five him. He looked at me seriously, and I shrunk in my stance. But he lifted one of his massive hands and high-fived me. Misa snickered beside me. Grover smiled, and Percy's eyebrows rose. The centaur's tail drooped back and forth, and flicked a bit too.

"Please come with me."

I looked at him with a confused expression, but sauntered after the activities director. Misa linked arms with me and we followed. Percy and Grover were about to follow, but Chiron waved his hand at them.

"No, not you two, just the girls."

"B-But Chiron…"

"Female are power, Grover." Misa stuck her tongue out. It was true. I laughed and we followed our horse-half director towards the Big House.

Once we got there, he sat us down and stared at us for a while. Mr. D sat down to join us.

"Misa…Jessie." He nodded to us as he acknowledged us.

I raised a finger in the air, interrupting him. "Joan."

"Yeah, Josie." Dionysus rolled his eyes. I sighed and listened to what he had to say.

He paused, and played with a kingpin ring on his finger. I watched, scared of what he might tell me. Maybe he found my secret stash of candy? Or he had figured out about the purple horse riding.

"Apollo and Hephaestus have a quest for you." Dionysus stated bluntly. My chest lifted. Daddy wanted me to go out and quest for him? SWEET.

"What kind of quest?" Misa tested cautiously. My grin turned into a frown and I crossed my arms, sinking into my chair. Chiron laughed after offering us some strawberry juice. Misa was the one who would think the option through. I was the one who'd jump in, hit a deadly roadblock, stand there and say 'Whut-!' then get eaten by a Kindly One, or something.

Mr. D sighed angrily. We were definitely taking up his happy juice time. Hehehe, but he wasn't allowed to have any. Hehehe sucks to be him.

"Three trials of courage, knowledge, and hospitality. And one trial to end suffering in Phoenix."

"Arizona!" I exclaimed. Woo! Sun City man!

"No, Olympus." Mr. D glanced at me sarcastically. Misa started to cheer. "Hell yeah we'll take your quest!"

"Your fathers' quest." He pointed out.

"Whatever." I smirked.

The camp director huffed, and pointed inside and up the stairs. Misa and I peered around the corner and stared at the trap door leading to the attic. Creepy…

"You want us to go up there?" She asked.

"Not for my health, no. Get up there, 'brave' ones."

We didn't move.

Mr. D scoffed again, Chiron tried to calm him down, but the fiery look was coming to his eyes again. "And your fathers told me you were brave! I should just tell the gods you're not takin-"

I put my foot on the stairs and started to climb up them. I had a feeling Mr. D was smirking. He was NOT going to call me chicken under the expenses of my father. I want to impress Daddy, but I wouldn't do so if I was a chicken.

When I entered the attic, I started coughing and sneezing at once. It was dusty and gross, and clustered with old Greek mythology stuff. Well, it's hard to say old now…old was like Zeus and them…but whatever.

In the corner of the attic, was the creepiest thing. A skeletal/mummy thing stood there, it 'eyes' watching me. I stared at it, in awe. There was a greenish mist around me, and the sound of hissing.

I fell scared. Part of my list of phobias, snakes. Then again it didn't help that my father was chummy with snakes. Ironic, no?

I swallowed hard. Swallowed my fears and tried to be courageous. This was the oracle, my father's oracle. Was it Delphi? I didn't really know, nor could I tell.

"What is my destiny, Delphi?"

The oracle's 'lips' curved into what could be considered a smile. It seemed like she knew I was from Apollo's grasps.

The mist was playing with my eyes, and I almost believed that my mother, Misa, Percy, and I were sitting on a couch nearby. I almost believed that they were laughing together and looking through a photo album (no doubt my family's), and that I was introducing them to my mother, out of the asylum. Her dark brown hair was so real, it moved like a veil of silk as she laughed with Percy. I almost believe Misa was arm-in-arm with my mist person, smiling up at me every once in a while. And it was hard to believe I was that pretty.

And yet I should have believed, because that's what the mist was creating, right in front of my eyes.

Misa looked up at me, and with a sweet, closed-eyed smile, she addressed me in a raspy voice, the voice of the oracle Delphi. I jumped at the sound of it, sweet-evil Misa making a sound like that! "_You and your companion will travel first west,_"

Mom turned a page of the album, and spoke in the same voice, not taking her eyes off the page: "_Cheat death more than once, and enter the nest._"

I leaned my head down onto Percy's shoulder. He looked at me with a soft smile, and I peered over his shoulder to look at the album as well. "_Sea will strike your empty heart in the score,_"

Percy, (after my heart lurched again, damn this heart) leaned in to take a closer look at the photo, and look at me, the actually me and not the one sitting beside him on the couch. "_And something you love might return once more._"

The charade disappeared and the hissing mist stopped. Delphi bowed, and sat still, her 'eye' white and empty. I had the feeling I was allowed to leave now. I bowed back at her, and I thought I saw her smile. I pulled open the trap door and almost ran out in fear of snakes. Instead I walked out of the attic casually.

Misa gave me a peace gesture with her fingers and walked passed me, up in the attic. To face the mist. The hissing…snake…scary…I lost my train of thought. For a moment it was nature to imagine a mortal from my school named Erin saying, 'It left without you.'

I sat with Chiron while I waited for Misa to come out of the attic. That sounds relatively close to 'come out of the closet'.

…Hehehe.

Chiron explained that Apollo and Hephaestus figured they would test us and get rid of some pests along the way. I asked him what sort of pests but he wouldn't tell me.

"And there's also a monstrous creature in Phoenix reeking havoc on city dwellers and such. It's been causing a lot of serious problems, and Apollo thinks you would be the best candidate to take care of it." He paused, sipping some of his juice. The wind blew a breeze gently through the valley, and I saw the strawberry fields in the distance for a moment. "In fact, Hephaestus advised for us to have Misa go with you because of this 'threat'."

"Gee, I feel so much better knowing Misa's got my back." I rolled my eyes. Chiron started to choke/laugh into his cup of juice. "She's more help than you think." The centaur wiped a tear from his eye.

I smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah yeah I know, I was just kidding around, mister!"

He put the cup down.

"In any case, you need to be careful. I was going to send more people with you but…they're going on a quest. And your father said specifically for you to go and no other Apollo."

"What about Hephaestus's sons?" I asked.

Chiron shook his head. "Also the same circumstances."

I thought for a moment. Chiron examined me like he was waiting for me to figure it out. His eyes eagerly scanned and flickered over the spot in front of me on the table. My hands rested there, entwined together.

"Who's going on a quest then?" Misa sat down beside me, her eyes wide and scared, but she also caught on to the conversation quickly and looked at Chiron expectantly with me. He sighed a sigh of defeat. Chiron knew he couldn't lose a fight with us. Well, not with words anyway.

"Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, and Annabeth Chase."

Twitch, twitch…

Annabeth.

There was a silence, a very stiff, awkward silenc-

"I CAN'T BELIEVE ATHENA'S GONNA-" I started to yell, birds flew out a tree nearby, and Misa tackled me down. My chair fell backwards and we tumbled to the deck. Chiron clapped his hoof on the deck ground but I continued to rant. Misa constantly yelled at me to shut up and that I was scaring people but I didn't listen. We rumbled for a while, and oddly enough it turned into an arm wrestling competition. Misa won, and then the ranting stopped.

"But that's unfair, you have Hercules strength…"

"Well it got you to shut up!" Misa hissed, Jun hugged her neck, and she turned her attention to the cat/robot. I sighed, and apologized to Chiron. He shook his head, and told me we had the night to prepare for the quest. We'd have to get to Minnesota.

"Minnesota!" Misa looked at him, her mouth agape.

He nodded and started to walk away.

"Alvarado. Argus will take you to the station tomorrow morning, early. So be ready heroes."


	7. My Family Shows Me to the Opera, and

7 – MY FAMILY SHOWS ME TO THE OPERA, AND I PLAY WITH FIRE

I couldn't believe it. My dad actually wanted to send me on a quest. I was feeling both proud and shocked. Why? I thought back to how Chiron looked at me when we were talking about it.

He probably wanted me to figure out by myself, knowing him.

The rest of the morning continued without anything unordinary. Misa and I walked around like zombies though. We weren't taking anything in at all. At night, we all went to the pavilion to have dinner. Tess leaned towards me while we stood in line.

"What's got you?" She muttered in my ear lightly.

"Nothing."

"Well that's not what Grover says! ~" She said sing-songy.

I made a mental note to kill Grover later, along with the death wish of Julia. Table Seven sat down, and ate to their hearts' contents. I poked around a strawberry on my plate, my fork chasing after it but my hand resisting. Austin lightly punched my shoulder.

"I hear you got assigned a quest!" His grin made me envious. He was always so happy, always looking at the positive side of life. "And on direct orders from dad too! I'm impressed; you've come a long way squirt!"

"You're LEAVING!" Julia wailed, her utensils dropping and clattering onto her empty plate. Her mouth was agape.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." I pointed out in disgust. She closed her mouth and apologized quietly, Tess gave her a look. "So that's what's been up." She smirked.

Adam's eyes looked at me sadly. "So…you're going…away?" He muttered sadly.

"Misa and I, yeah." I nodded and Lee patted his shoulder sympathetically.

Michael scoffed and continued eating. As did Will and Kayla and the rest of the Apollos except for a handful of girls. There was no more talk about my quest during dinner, though I could see Arianna brush her eyes gently and Aethinia patted her sister's back reassuringly.

Dionysus stood up after the meal, and announced the date for capture the flag. He didn't, however, say anything about Misa and me leaving. Or for that matter, Percy and Annabeth and Grover.

All the campers stood up, and I followed. It was time to the camp fire. My two brothers, Adam and Austin, linked arms with me and we laughed on the way to the fire. Us Apollos planned out our songs and I smirked when Julia brought out a bag of marshmallows. Ah, life was good.

Austin took a deep breath, and sang out in a vibrato tone. "Let's singggggg!~"

Adam took the deeper tone. "You tell 'em, Austinnnn!~"

Julia went higher. "You guys are idiotsssss!~~~"

Tess joined in, the highest and longest note. "I LIKE PIEEEE!~"

I pushed a fist-wielding Julia from laughing Austin and sung to shake the windows. "EFF MY LIFEEEE!~"

They laughed. My family members were natural opera singers? That's mad cool.

At the end of the night, we all stranded out. I waved briefly to Misa, who I would see soon enough in the early morning.

I started to pull on my pajamas when my brothers and sisters started to approach me. I started to get nervous, but they meant no harm. Actually, they just hugged me, cooed to me about how proud they were over me. They were like parents; it was annoying how they would stroke my hair and glomp me. I was only 4 years younger than the oldest! _Di immortales!_

When I had settled into bed, all the thoughts of the following day were running through my head. I think I was getting close to sleeping when I heard knocking at the window on my side of the cabin. Curiously, I got up and looked through the window. The alarmingly enlarged face of Misa scared me. I yelped and she hushed me from the other side of the window, and then beckoned at me with her hand.

I looked around the cabin, peering over to see if anyone had awoken. Nothing stirred, so I exited the cabin reluctantly. Misa grinned at me; Jun was sleeping (like a computer does, really! His eyes were turned off and empty) on her shoulder. "What do you want, disturbing my sleep…?" I hissed at her in a whisper. She smirked and held up a bag of candy.

"We gotta live before we leave, of course!"

"Cause mayhem?" I sighed, rubbing my forehead and furrowing my eyebrows. My Hephaestus friend looked at me as if I was a fool for standing in front of her. And sometimes I thought I was. She caused me grief a lot, but she was my friend either way. Of course I'd be here with her at such an hour.

"You're boring." Said nature spirit sighed and started to walk away from me. I stuttered behind her.

"N-No wait!"

She so manipulative! I always ended up following behind her, worried about her well-being.

"Good, you'll come?" Her eyes impaled my curiosity and I instantly lost it. She won. She won this round, but she'd see.

"Fine." The pout was a natural reaction. How I was going to cope on the quest with this nerd for 3 weeks, I did NOT know.

Misa and I travelled into the forest, where a clearing shone brightly with the light from the moon. Fallen tree logs were bordering an empty fire pit in the middle of the clearing. The stars above were clearly visible out here in the outdoors, and the trees whistled when the wind blew. You could sometimes smell the sweet scent of the strawberries growing nearby.

"If you don't mind, I brought friends." She muttered, in a tone that made it seem like she didn't want me to hear. I gave her a look that said, 'what-did-you-do?'. Misa's eyes darkened evilly, but a grin plastered at the two corners of her lips.

"You'll see!~"

I sat down on the logs and she disappeared back into the forest. My nails never were so interesting until now. Who Misa would disturb now was out of my knowledge. Well actually, I had a few ideas, but I was going to let it be a surprise. I felt vulnerable in that clear without light. Minus the moonlight. I needed sunlight, something warm like fire to make my nights better.

I zipped up my sweater and crossed my pajama-covered legs. I was wearing SpongeBob pajama bottoms with his porous holes fabric-ed on. My shirt had his face on it. Misa rustled through the bush and dragged an unsuspecting satyr and his target behind her. My ears started to heat up.

"Your visitors are Percy and Grover?"

"Her kidnap-ees!" Percy growled in her grip. She gave me a close-eyed smile. Grover 'bla!'-ed angrily and wriggled around.

"Sorry guys, you can leave if you want," I picked up our flint and tried to light a fire. They watched me curiously, and Misa watched from a safe distance. Misa didn't like fire, being a tree and all, but she could create fire. She'd rather not though.

I growled at the stupid piece of flint and threw it across the clearing, defeated. "MISA! Use that freaky fire power of yours!"

"N-No!" She looked at me, alarmed.

"Do it."

"Never."

"You won't burn yourself."

"I don't care; burning logs is like burning my own family!"

"So you don't care when I do it?"

"…"

"JUST DO IT!"

"NO!"

"I'll tell Adam! ~"

She rushed forwards and faced the logs I was attempting to burn. A confused Percy sat down beside me, while Grover joined Misa's side of the fire. Misa stared at the logs, her eyes wide. Her long sleeved pajamas covered her raised palms. She pulled them back and they built up at her elbows. Grover sighed and let out a 'bah'.

Percy leaned towards me. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's against her nature," I smirked. She sent me a death glare, but let her hand hover over the logs. She squat down in front of it and gulped.

"Hurry up, Chiron's gonna catch us." I said brusquely.

Grover looked around worriedly, but Percy seemed like he didn't care at all. He just looked tired.

A flame fell in liquid form from her outstretched hand, then another, and two others. The fire came to life, and I cheered quietly. Misa, however, didn't look happy at all, but kind of sick.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Percy's eyes widened. I laughed. "Relax, she'll be fine. Hey Misa!" I threw the bag of sweets at her. "You go first!"

She sighed and took a blue jubjub from the bag, then smirked. "What do you think, rabbit, or cat?" The girl glanced up at me, and I pondered for a moment. "Rabbit." I said finally. Misa took a bite of the jubjub, and threw the rest into the fire, then called out "Rabbit!".

Percy looked at us like we were crazy, but just then the fire emitted blue sparkling smoke and it twisted and turned into the shape of a rabbit. Its nose twitched and it looked at Misa. She smiled at it and Grover nodded at the rabbit smoke creature. The figure glanced back at me and tilted its head at Percy, then disappeared and the fire turned its normal shade of red and orange.

"W-What was that?"

"It's a game, the natives of Misa's past lives use to do this in tribes with powder to explain stories to little children," Grover looked at the Poseidon offspring, his brown eyes glistening in the light of the fire.

"Now we just play with candy, it adds colour and it's all processed by Gods of Sweets and Foods, sooooo…it works with fire." I added, and picked through the bag until I found a purple 'Swedish Berry'. "Dragon or Phoenix?" I chewed on a piece of the candy. Misa thought for a minute, but Grover butt in. "Dragon!" He cheered.

I smirked and threw the bit into the fire, and out of it emerged a long, charming dragon from the flames. The dense, purple smoke formed large wings and two large hind legs. It had two small forearms and its eyes were the empty bits of smoke that were missing. Its horns bucked upwards with its head as it tried to look back at me and Percy. Percy nervously squirmed in his seat.

The small dragon, no taller from the ground than my knee standing on its hind legs, leaned in towards Percy and it was 'looking' at him with its empty sockets. I reached for the smoke and its sockets closed when I stroked a hand threw the cloudy, flameless substance. Then it placed itself upon Percy's lap. He looked nervous, but raised a hand to pat the dragon's side. It reared up, rubbed its smoky flank against Percy's chest and fluttering towards Misa and Grover, leaving a smoky cloud trail behind it.

I patted Percy's shoulder and chuckled. "How you doing, there, hero?"

"That's really cool." Hs wide eyes shrunk, and he gave me a weak smile. I returned it and watched my dragon place its head on Misa's shoulder and its rump on Grover's. They both stroked the smoke creature lightly before it barreled into the flames with a small roar. It did a lopsided corkscrew on its way back. Misa clapped, her jaw chewing on the candy all the while. I handed the bag to Percy, and he took it willingly.

The boy considered and examined the yellow candy in his hand, and looked at us with his forearm against his stomach. "Dolphin or Lion?"

"Bottlenose." Grover nodded.

"Li-onsss for the win!" Misa pumped her fist in the air.

They all looked at me expectantly. Oh hot damn…'this is my jam'…no no don't get distracted. The pressure was on me. I mentally laughed.

"Dolphins are love."

Misa groaned sadly, and Grover gave a triumphant laugh. Percy bit the candy and threw its remains into the flames with a backwards throw. He lifted his elbow, but faced his hand towards the fire and flicked the candy.

From the tips of the flames, the fins emerged, and the yellow, glassy dolphin stared at us upside down. It swam nose-side up and cackled cutely. Misa cooed from the other side of the fire and I did the same. Grover laughed, popping a green candy into his mouth. The dolphin 'swam' towards Percy and it swam a ring around Percy's head. I giggled and he had his eyes fixed on the creature circling his head.

"It's gonna getcha, Perc." Misa pointed a finger at him, eating licorice. He laughed softly and grabbed the dolphin. It swam around happily in his outstretched hands, and darted to do figure eights between my feet, which were planted to the ground. Percy and I laughed, and Misa smirked across the fire at our bonding. After diving through Grover's furry legs and ringing around Misa's arms, the dolphin dived into the flames and the fire spat out some fire and smoke into the air.

It cracked and we continued bonding, convincing Grover to play with us.

Percy leaned over the log, close to the fire, and handed him the bag on the other side. Grover pulled out a red 'sea urchin' shaped candy. "Horse or Unicorn?"

"That's creative." I stated the obvious out. Misa put her hand up in the air, almost throwing Jun off her shoulder. "Unicorns!"

"I second that motion." Percy also raises a hand up beside me. I gave them the thumbs up. The unicorn was crystallized and liked poking up with its horn. I neighed at Percy, probably because of Poseidon, and prodded my leg, climbed up Misa, and conversed with Grover, before charging back into the flame.

An hour or two passed, and after laughing really hard over the Snake that caused me to cling to Percy and lift my legs off the ground to escape my fear, Percy held up another yellow candy. "Artemis or Apollo?"

We all went quiet, but after a bit I put my input in first. "Apollo."

"Yeah."

"Sun god for the win."

So Percy chucked the candy into the fire, and out of the fire came the toga-dressed interpretation of my father.

He was life size, as tall as an adult man. His eyes were smokeless, like my dragon's, and his hair looked gelled back. A bow was at his side and arrows sat in a quiver on his back. He struts around us for a little bit, then sat down beside me and patted my head. It felt weird to be acknowledged by my father that way, even if he was a hologram thing.

Misa waved to him, and my 'dad' waved back at her. Grover was kneeling respectfully at his feet and I could see my dad laugh wordlessly, and then waved a hand at him for Grover to rise. Apollo leaned forward and glanced at Percy, and walked back into the fire. The four of us sat quietly, and I took a piece of orange candy.

"Adam or Austin, Misa?" I smirked, and her face turned red in the light of the fire. "HEY!"

"Adam," Grover laughed, and Percy shrugged. I threw the sugar into the fire and out of the smoke appeared my half-brother, much sexier in smoke form. I died laughing when he sat in front of Misa, cross-legged. So she picked up a piece of candy, aggravated and threw the white, ultimate gummy 'whale' into the fire.

White gummies are like lie detectors. Misa appeared in the smoke, and her face turned red, but started to laugh. "So Grover…" She smirked, and Grover turned a horrid scarlet shade. I laughed, and Grover rummaged around for a white gummy. He found one, and muttered, "Fine, who does Percy feel he owes a rescue to!"

Percy's face turned a deep red as well, and he looked like he didn't want to be brought into this situation.

I felt my ears warm up when my armed figure appeared from the fire. She raised an arm, Ultima in her hand. Beside her, Annabeth formed, her curly hair sauntered when she leaned to look over 'my' shoulder at Percy. 'I' smiled at him, and my face went red, just like his. Said Sea Son found himself a white gummy and threw it into the fire.

"Who would Joan do anything for?"

Misa's evil smirk grew, and I felt totally humiliated all over again.

My mother formed in sparkles, her hair a silk veil, her smokeless eyes 'fell' onto me. Relief hit me. Only my mum—

Sean appeared at her side, waving and taking a seat beside me. Misa burst out laugh, and Grover joined her. Percy laughed, but there was a different look in his eyes.

Then Adam, Austin, Tess, and Julia gave me positive hand gestures, sprawling out in front of me in different, comfortable positions.

That one's obvious; I smiled when Misa's figure appeared again. It looked confused as to why it was here again.

Percy followed last, stepping over Austin, who was lounging on the floor, and sitting next to the real Percy. Percy blushed and squirmed in his seat.

"…I think that's enough candy today." I stood up, and the smoke evaporated.

"Pfft, whatever you sayyyy~" Misa laughed.

I left the clearing, taking the bag of candy with me. Tomorrow was another day.


	8. OMG That's Lame, I Want A Dad Made Out

**AN – XD Ah, this title is a reference to the song 'We Ran Out of CD Space' by Pyschostick**

8 – OMG THAT'S LAME, I WANT A DAD MADE OUT OF NINJA ROBOTS

My dream was weird. It involved Grover eating 50 foot-tall trees, Misa having a freak out at him, and Annabeth appearing out of no where singing the line 'What if your thumb roared like a dinosaur!'. Percy made it start hailing Minivans, and Chiron was giving pony rides. The floor was made of glazed doughnuts, and I could swear I saw a crocodile shooting heat seeking killer bees (which chased Clarisse around) out of its eyes.

That was the last time I'd listen to _Pyschostick_ before I go to bed.

I lifted the backpack onto my shoulder and paraded outside after seeing to my siblings one last time. The morning mist and the smell of strawberry fields greeted my arrival. I took in a breath, and sighed. My last morning at Camp Half Blood…until next year. Misa waved tiredly at me from Cabin Nine and stifled a yawn as she approached me.

"Killer night, last night." She laughed, and I glared at her. Misa continued to smirk, and followed after me when I walked away. She skipped merrily when we met up with Argus, his many eyes watching us. It was way too early for any other campers to be awake and around. We nodded to him, and he took us to Manhattan.

Argus tipped his hat to us when he dropped us off, and drove off towards the camp. Misa and I stood awkwardly in the sidewalk with our bags.

…

"Now what?" She looked at me, Jun sitting on her suitcase swinging his legs.

My thoughts exactly.

"C'mon." I started to walk towards 15th Street. She blinked at me, and called out. "Hey! Where the hell are we going?"

I waved at her and continued walking, and Misa growled, frustrated. The girl chased after me, her suitcase rolling behind her. I laughed and start to run, making her work behind me. "I'LL KILL YOU, JOAN!" My companion yelled, but all that was on my mind was our destination, my apartment.

We stepped into the well-kept apartment building. Misa was panting and cursing wildly behind me, but I ignored her. I waved to the doorman, and he waved back. Jun pounced onto my back and wrapped around to sit on my left shoulder. A lady that I knew lived on the 5th floor glared at me and sent Jun a scary look. Jun stared at her, and Misa looked like she was going to pop the cat-lady's eyes out, but I ignored her.

I pulled a growling Misa into the elevator and she looked at me, puzzled.

"Stop scaring my neighbours or Adam'll hear about this."

"Jerk." She pouted.

Still, I had the feeling we were being watched. The apartment was uneasy. I didn't like it. We got to the 64th floor and got off the landing. Misa seemed to be just as uneasy as me. Very uneasy. Something was wrong; Jun blinked and whirled at my shin. He stood, walked the width of the hallway, and crawled onto Misa again.

I fumbled with a key card in my pocket and glanced back at her. Misa urged me to go on, and so I did. The door opened with a click, and I walked into the remains of my apartment.

The curtains were drawn over the windows and that made the room dark. I flicked a light on and illuminated our surroundings. The kitchen was empty, and Misa popped into the living room and gave me a thumbs up. I checked the rest of the apartment cautiously. Misa sensed my nervousness and joined me, her hand at her belt. Certainly a weapon lied there at her waist. I patted the violin bow tucked into the inside of my pant leg. Patience is the key.

"What's up?" She said. Jun slowly moved to the windows and tugged the curtains off with a large amount of his tiny force. The sky outside was overcast and threatened to rain. Jun sat himself on the armrest of my step-father's recliner. Misa sat in the chair itself, examining my reaction to the apartment with her concerned hazel eyes.

"We need to get some money, and we'll take a plane to Minnesota."

"I don't think Bolt Boy will like that." Misa hummed, and thunder roared outside.

"Temper, Temper." I chuckled, and I could swear the room lit up slightly. "We'll have to fly, it's the only way."

"We could hitchhike in a truck like in those weird quest movies!" With a smirk she reached over the coffee table and grabbed a trucker hat from the table. "Whose hat is this!"

"My step-dad's, but he's-" I hear the door click behind me and Jun hissed. The small robot ducked behind the armchair. Misa lunged to my side, and stood anxiously. Through the door came a man, of older age. His hair was shaggy, plentiful, and sunshine gold. His green eyes, though filled with gloom, were almost emerald-like. The man wore a pair of denim jeans, and a long sweater.

"Van." I addressed my step-father carefully. Boy, he sure was acting strange. Jun was uneasy, whirling his cogs and communicating to Misa quietly. Misa kept her eyes on Van, murmuring back to Jun with a protective look in her eyes. Van's eyes fell on me and he quietly embraced me. I was caught off guard.

This is weird. Van's supposed to be in Ireland with my grandparents and my locked-up mother…

He didn't smell like the fancy cologne (which I enjoyed) that he usually did either. In fact, his breathing wasn't breathing…it was more like cogs clicking.

"Joan, run!" Misa yelled, and a searing pain struck me at my hip. I struggled under Van's inhuman grip and could feel the metal through his sleeves.

This was no step-father of mine, this was a robot. No doubt sent by the gods to test us.

"Gods damn it!" I screamed and freed myself from Robo-Van's grip. His growl came out low and mechanically. Misa was on him in a mere second, her athame in her hand and Jun at her side. The robot threw her over his shoulder and she grunted when her body met the wall.

I tripped the robot when it came running at me, and held my tender foot in pain. I ran passed Misa, who gave me a nod that said 'I'll take care of this.', and stumbled around my mother's empty room. In the living room more thumps and yelping from the other room.

My trembling hands took the load of cash my mother hid under the floorboard. When I got up to join Misa's battle, the photo frame on my mom's nightstand caught my eye. There sat a photo of the three of us, Mom, Van, and me, at Disneyland last year. My heart welled up and for a moment I felt like I did back at the camp when the Hellhound appeared.

I tore my eyes away from it…but ran back for it and shoved the frame in my backpack. Ultima was in my hands the instant I reached the living room. Misa's arm was bleeding, and a few chair and tables had been thrown around. Robo-Van's eyes were bright red.

"He can shoot lasers!" Misa whimpered with an angry tone hidden behind her voice at the sight of me.

I raised my bow and struck the robot between his right shoulder blades. He reared and groaned, turning around to face me. The colour in his eyes darkened, and my eyes widened. I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being barbequed by lasers. Misa stabbed the robot in the thigh and was reflected immediately.

"What the hell!" She growled, taking out an array of daggers from her smaller one. Sometimes she customized too much, but I would bother her about it later. Safeguard blocked her from another laser at it's summon, and I remembered Pysclonusia. I brought her to my chest and blocked Robo-Van's wrist snap. Van let out a cry in agony, and Misa had slashed where his wrist would have been if it weren't for him being made of God's metal.

"You have to get him from the openings in the metal frames!" I shouted at her, and took aim at his left shoulder blade with a sound arrow. The metal clanged on the contact, and Van covered his ears. Misa took this chance and kicked him down, smashing my coffee table in half. I frowned, splinters of wood flew everywhere and I ducked, running to Misa side. She had taken out a short sword and stabbed at the ankle mark on his left foot.

Van roared, and slowly the metal started to turn a faint bronze colour. The face of my step-father turned into that of a mechanical man. The red eyes stared at Misa, then at me. It was expecting defeat. Misa was about to take the final blow, but I placed an arm in front of her. She looked at me, a mixture of confusion and anger on her face. I took Sinada, transforming from my loose earring, and held it up in my left hand.

The robot stopped struggling, and looked towards me. There was almost an understanding connection when our eyes met, even for being a robot. He bowed his head, and my face twisted into a battle expression. I lifted my sword with a battle cry, and stabbed the robot's neck. He let out an agonizing screech, and Jun cringed at the sound. He melted away, the metal disappearing into black smoke.

Misa sighed. "I could have finished him."

"He was my step-father's clone incarnate; I think I would have sufficed." I shrugged at her.

My friend looked around the now ruined apartment. There was a very light trace of blood on the wall behind us from Misa's wound.

"I think that was one of Hephaestus's robots." She murmured to me, holding Jun in her uninjured arm. I blinked, astounded, and reached for the bathroom door, which was unharmed.

"Your dad's one effed up God."

After I had patched up Misa's arm and endured her yelling about insulting her father, we took a taxi to the airport.

"I mean seriously, your dad makes freakin' Ninja Robots to hunt down 14 year olds! Sounds pedophile-ish to me." I said while I pulled my backpack onto my back. We were at the terminal waiting to board out 8:45pm plane.

"SHUT UP!" She punched my arm and I gave her a look that said 'I'll deal with you later.' She shrugged it off though. Misa was no more scared of me than I was of her. Jun kept patting at her patched up wound, and I led her to the waiting seats by our boarding gate. Misa's face turned soft and confused. I sat her down and unwound her bandage.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Helping you. There are no trees around the concrete jungle for you to heal with, are there?" I raised my eyebrow at her sarcastically. She shook her head, and I rested my palm on her injury. I hummed quietly; the occasional Greek word escaped my lips. Misa kept looking at me weird, and she smiled sheepishly and looking passersby.

Soon the flesh had closed around her gash with a golden light, and I stood up from my kneeling stance.

I nodded to her with the same cold stare I always had on my face in serious times. She smiled back at me, and I let a small tug at the corner of my lip suffice as a smile. Jun jumped into Misa's backpack and I laughed quietly at the cute little robot. Misa then stared clinging to my arm and complaining about how 'oh so hungryyyyyy' she was. I laughed at how childish she could be sometimes, but loved her anyway.

Well she was the only friend-girl who could really understand me, and wasn't my sister.

I took her to a Pizza Pizza in the food court and she devoured her cheese pizza happily. She could eat so much for a small girl and still be that skinny and small. After I fed her appetite, we sat by the gate again. Misa added to the awkward silence about how she'd love to be playing with fire tonight. I agreed silently, and she looked at my thinking face with a smirk.

"Whatcha thinking about, missy?" She asked. My ears turned hotter.

"N-Nothing!"

Misa swooned at me and started speaking to me in a baby-voice. "Aww, little McCartney is thinking about her water demigod!"

"AT LEAST I'M NOT ALL OVER A CERTAIN SAYTR!" I hissed at her and covered my blushing face nonchalantly.

"Actually, I don't think of Grover." Misa admitted.

"Adam." My mischievous smirk returned to my graceful face. Her eyebrows knitted together and I hushed up about boys for the next hour.

Misa had fallen asleep for a bit. I held my Nintendo DS in my hands and frantically kept circling a rampaging 'Charizard' with my stylus. Pokémon Rangers, you never let me down. At roughly 8pm, Misa had jolted awake, and scared the crap out of me.

"What's wrong?" I gave her most of my concern; however Charizard was being a pain on my screen and I was itching to wipe the floor with that growling face. Her eyes were filled with gloom, and a hint of worry.

"Grover, Percy, and Annabeth."

"What about them?" I snapped my console closed and gave her my full attention.

"They're in the forest…I dunno where though, but they're camping out tonight."

"Oh." I reply coldly. She examines my face again before lifting her backpack and awakening Jun. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." I replied nervously.

"What's wrong?" She smirked at me. "Afraid of heights, kitty?"

"Shut up." I brushed passed her and could feel her mischievous eyes on my back. She followed though, and together the two of us headed towards our second crazy death attempt.


End file.
